This week's RTÉ Radio 1 Album of the Week is Rhiannon Giddens' Freedom Highway.
What we say: For the uninitiated, classically trained opera singer (and part-time Limerick resident) Giddens is the lead singer, violinist and banjo player of the rather superb Grammy-winning Americana band Carolina Chocolate Drops - she popped up on a lot of radars after her scene-stealing turn on Jools Holland's Hootenanny a few years ago, and also made her acting debut on a recent episode of country music TV drama Nashville. Freedom Highway is her second solo record, after 2015's Tomorrow Is My Turn, and it offers a rather exhilarating musical journey through Afro-American history, driven by Giddens' soaring vocal stylings. You won't hear a better folk record this year.
What she says: A lot of American history is very negative, definitely, but the musical history is beautiful,” she said. “We have to talk about the negativity, but we have to enjoy the beauty of what this country, culturally, has done.”
What the critics are saying:
These well-told stories of injustice and defiance burst with blues, gospel and folk and with American more divided than ever, they are urgent and strikingly relevant. (RTÉ Entertainment)
Giddens plies soul, R&B and hip-hop as easily as she does old-time music, blues, gospel and jazz. The cohesion across settings and styles is a testament to both her characters’ resilience and the skills of Giddens and co-producer Dirk Powell. A vital album for an anxious era. (Mojo Magazine)
Influences include folk, blues and jazz, along with funk and rap on a song about death in present day America. The exquisite We Could Fly brings a note of optimism to this powerful and timely set. (The Guardian)
Listen to Freedom Highway in full below, via Spotify:
We need your consent to load this Spotify contentWe use Spotify to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Find out more about RTÉ Radio 1's weekly playlist here.
